Celebrity Rehab With Jeff Hardy
by I'm Miss World
Summary: Jeff Hardy forms a deep connection with a rockstar's daughter, suffering from heroin addiction, during rehabilitation at Pine Grove Treatment center. People say it's impossible, but Jeff manages to give the hopeless hope. JeffOC
1. Chapter 1: Welcome To Pine Grove

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the WWE. Pine grove is a real place. I don't own CC DeVille.

**A/N:** Just something I came up with. And I just couldn't resist. Probably won't be extremely lengthy. And if people aren't into it, I might take it down. Obviously influenced by Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. It is not a TV show setting though, just a regular rehab center. This takes place during the March suspension, about two weeks after the unfortunate fire. Picture of Free in my profile.

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Celebrity Rehab With Jeff Hardy**

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Pine Grove**

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Jeff Hardy sat beside the pool at Pine Grove Treatment Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, iPod turned up loudly, drumming his fingers to the beat on one of the deck tables. Everyone had ventured outside right in the middle of group for a cigarette break, so Jeff had seized the opportunity to get out of the suffocating room the session was being held in even though he didn't smoke.

He enjoyed group a lot more than he enjoyed single sessions, but he'd still prefer to be left alone, in his own thoughts. The other patients here were all right, but outside of the facility, he doubted he'd have ever talked to any of them. Some of them were really fucked up, and he wondered how he was grouped with them. Maybe he'd ask the head honcho, Dr. Callahan, during his next single session.

It was all part of the suspension. It wasn't mandatory for him to go to rehab, but it was suggested. And Matt had kind of pushed him into it. Jeff just didn't want to disappoint his brother or father more than he already had. Things had taken a turn for the worst after the suspension when Jeff lost absolutely everything, including his dog Jack, in a tragic house fire.

It wasn't until that happened that Jeff's eyes opened. Maybe the rehab thing wouldn't be so bad. So when Matt started asking about it, Jeff agreed to go, on the company's dime. It brought him to one of the finest rehab centers in the south, Pine Grove, and to him it was honestly like a vacation spot as opposed to a rehab center. There was everything you could possibly want available. Well, everything except what these people, including himself, desired most.

Jeff was just looking around when he noticed the others from his group were all pretty interested in something going on inside. They were all looking through the massive sliding glass door, cigarettes in hand, and though Jeff never considered himself particularly nosy, he was rather curious. Getting up, he took a spot next to an alcoholic named Kevin, who Jeff noticed seemed to have the inside scoop on everyone here, including the workers.

He pulled his headphones out of his ears and saw what had everyone so distracted. A new girl was checking in. She was physically attractive as far as Jeff was concerned, and was with a guy who looked about twice her age at least, with the same platinum colored hair.

"Who's she?" Jeff asked Kevin, knowing if anyone could answer that, it would be him.

Kevin was in some band, a drummer, who was really skinny with a shaved head and was absolutely covered in tattoos. "Her name's Free Johannesson. She was on one of those Top Model shows or some shit like two years ago. That's her dad, CC DeVille. From Poison, you know?" Jeff thought the older guy looked familiar. He was never very fanatical about Poison, but he knew who CC DeVille was. "She's like really into the big H I guess."

Jeff was surprised by this. She certainly isn't what he'd picture a heroin addict looking like. But now that he watched, along with everyone else, he noticed her chomping on her fingernails, watching as her father pushed her hand away from her mouth more than once. She was also rubbing at her arms a lot. Fidgety, just like he was.

"How the hell do you know all this stuff man?" Jeff questioned Kevin in wonder. Sometimes it seemed like Kevin knew more about the patients than the staff did.

"I've got connections," he said mysteriously before wandering off with his cigarette, apparently growing bored of the newcomer.

"All right guys, smoke break is over. Let's go back in and finish up," the group therapist, Dr. Melissa Martinez announced and everyone prepared to go back inside. Jeff sighed and trudged behind, the last to actually get into the building. He liked being outside so much more.

He passed Free and discreetly looked her over, not wanting to seem rude, but she wasn't even paying attention. She was too busy gnawing on her fingernails, which Jeff now noticed were disgustingly short and jagged. He also spotted the scabs lining her forearms and quickly looked away.

He was slightly disgusted by the infectious looking wounds and tried to put them out of his mind as he sat back in one of the beanbag chairs in the group room and listened to a woman named Tabitha talk about her children.

* * *

"Hey, don't start crying on me now," Bruce Johannesson, better known as CC DeVille, said to his teary eyed daughter as they stood in the lobby of the rehab center. The secretary was just filing her sign in papers and then she would be led into her room where she'd experience the hell that is sobriety.

CC held his daughter's face in his hands and made her look at him. He blamed himself for her addiction, knowing if he'd been around more when she was younger he might've been able to prevent it form ever starting. "You're not here to be punished baby. I just don't wanna see you go down the same path I did. You need to get away from LA and modeling and everything else, okay?"

Free sniffed and wiped her nose with her hand. "I know," she admitted, even though she'd been putting up a fight about going. She knew she needed to get off of heroin, but she also knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. It seemed so much easier just to keep doing it.

"Free? We'll take you right this way," a petite nurse called, offering her a warm smile.

"You want me to stay till you're settled in?' her father asked, worrying his daughter was not going to take being here alone so well. But to his surprise, she declined.

"No. I think... I think I'll be okay. I love you," she muttered as she wrapped her slim arms around his neck.

"Love you too baby. You call me every day, got it?" CC instructed with a light laugh, hugging her to him tightly.

Free reluctantly broke away from her father and grabbed the handle of her large suitcase, wheeling it behind her as she went over to where her guide was waiting. "Hi sweetheart. My name is Tammy. I'm the head nurse here. Welcome to Pine Grove."


	2. Chapter 2: Settling In

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the WWE or any of its superstars.

**A/N: **Thanks to those who reviewed. I hope everyone's enjoying this story, because I'm enjoying writing it.

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Celebrity Rehab With Jeff Hardy**

**Chapter 2: Settling In**

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"This is your room right here; 105. Your roommate's name is Veronica, but she's in group with the rest of the patients in this ward right now. Why don't you get settled in and we can go on a tour when they get out of group. We'll unpack for now, okay?" Free just nodded at the small, older woman. She was nervous and uncomfortable and already wanted to go home. Why had she told her dad to leave?

With Tammy's assistance, Free dropped her suitcase on the bed that was now hers and unzipped it. She began pulling clothes out and got ready to put them in the available drawers, but Tammy grabbed them from her. "It's procedure sweetheart, I'm sorry," Tammy commented, looking apologetic at the young woman.

Free was horrified as Tammy began unfolding all the neat, pressed articles of clothing and shook them out, checking any pockets in case something was hidden in them. Free began eating her fingernails again, her obsessive compulsions dying to kick in. She'd spent hours folding her clothes perfectly and piling them up according to material and color. OCD is something that had never been a problem until she became a druggie, though she'd always had compulsive tendencies.

Tammy began refolding a pair of jeans, the wrong way according to Free, and as soon as Tammy set them on the bed, Free picked them up and refolded them, making sure all the seams lined up exactly before putting them in the bottom drawer of the small dresser on her side of the room. Pants went in the bottom, always, jeans on one side, other material on the opposite, and shorts in the middle. That's just how she liked it.

As if realizing what the problem was, Tammy sighed. "I'm so sorry honey. I completely forgot. I don't want to cause you any stress, but it has to be done. I'll try to be neat about it." Tammy had read in Free's file that she had OCD, not that it was anything uncommon around here.

An hour later, Tammy had gone through all of the clothes and Free had carefully folded and organized them all in the drawers. Undergarments and socks up top, pajamas next, shirts and then pants. That's how it went. Only a few things went in the closet.

"I need to check the actual luggage case and all your accessories," Tammy told her, then proceeded to check all pockets of the suitcase and confiscated tweezers, nail files, Free's razor and all other potentially dangerous objects. Free understood that it was necessary, but it still bothered her. "You can access these things whenever you need them, just ask one of the nurses," Tammy told her. At least she didn't have scheduled leg shaving sessions or whatever.

Next was the pocket book. Tammy pulled the contents out of the bag as neatly and carefully as she could, not wanting to upset the new girl, who was probably the worst off in the ward at this point. Heroin was pretty much the most difficult addiction to kick, and this girl could only be about twenty; she couldn't quite remember the age on her file. And on top of that, she was the only heroin addict in this ward at the moment.

Free watched as Tammy put her cell phone, cigarettes, lighter and Advil into the box. "I can't have my asprin?" Free asked, shocked. She was going to need it! "And my phone. I told my dad I'd call him every day!" Free was beginning to get frantic and almost started to cry.

Tammy shushed her and gently guided her to a sitting position on the bed. "Relax honey. Like I said, all you have to do is ask and this stuff will be given to you. We just need to monitor things a little more closely than you're used to here."

Frowning and sufficiently unhappy with the situation, Free began sifting through her remaining things, assorting them into organized piles before placing them around her side of the room. She put a picture of her mother and herself when she was young and one of her and her father from the last five years or so on the bedside table.

A few minutes after everything else had been placed where Free wanted it and all things that needed to be monitored when used were in a plastic bin, just like everyone else's, the door opened. A short, chubby woman who looked about thirty with curly brown hair and glasses walked inside. "Oh, hello."

Free offered her a small smile, and Tammy stood up. "Veronica, this is Free. She's your new roommate." Veronica smiled broadly at Free and bounced over to where she was seated on her bed.

"Nice to meet you. You're going to like it here. Everyone's really friendly and stuff."

"Thanks," Free breathed, not so convinced.

"Veronica, why don't you go introduce Free to everyone and show her around? I'll be out to help in a minute. I just need to go put her box away," Tammy suggested, holding the plastic container in her hands.

"Sure!" Veronica agreed enthusiastically and Free stood, following the shorter girl out into the hallway. She began getting nervous and started biting at her pinky nail, her other arm folded over her stomach. "I think everyone went outside," Veronica observed, noticing the sitting area, which is where most people hung around, was completely deserted. "But this is where we watch TV usually or just hang out. The rooms across from ours are where all the guys stay. Our side is the girls obviously."

Veronica continued the indoor tour, showing her the locked kitchen, which you couldn't access without permission since there were knives and such in the drawers. Was this rehab or prison? Free didn't understand why people who were addicts couldn't use sharp objects. Just because they're on drugs doesn't mean they're mentally unstable.

Free also saw the group session room, the art room, which catered to all artistic endeavors, and the gym. There was also a dining room that looked like a fancy school cafeteria the way the long tables were set up and there were two other rooms with televisions in them; Veronica called them the visitors rooms. "It's just somewhere to go when you have visitors or whatever."

"How's the tour coming?" Tammy asked, poking her head into the visitor's room they were in. Free jumped, startled since she'd been busy trying to inconspicuously tilt a picture on the wall that looked crooked, straight.

"It's fine. I was just going to take her outside," Veronica answered, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Free wondered if everyone here was this cheery. She guessed she'd find out.

"All right. Free, are you ready to go outside? There's some food out there," Tammy questioned encouragingly. Free had busied herself with the painting again.

"Yeah... can I just... fix this first?" she asked, flushing from embarrassment. She hated having to do things like this, but she just couldn't ignore them. It would drive her nuts and the last thing she needed was more stress when she was anticipating withdrawals.

"Of course. Veronica, you can go on outside, all right?" Veronica nodded to Tammy's request and trotted out of the room while Free adjusted the painting to where she wanted it. It was very abstract, and she wasn't sure exactly what emotion it was trying to expel from people, but she thought it seemed out of place in here. It was a little loud and.... seemed distressed. "One of the patients here did that. He's outside right now. Do you like it?"

Free rubbed her bare arm, frowning at the piece of art, _really_ looking at it, before shaking her head. "No. It reminds me of... _pain_. I mean, it's a good painting but I just... don't like the way it makes me feel."

Tammy's thin eyebrows rose as she looked from the painting back to Free's disturbed expression. It _would _cause pain to the observer; the artist had been in so much of it. "Well, Jeff's been through a lot of hardships in a very short time. Come on sweetie, let's go outside."

Sucking in air, she tore her eyes away from the sad piece of art and followed Tammy out of the room and towards the sliding glass door that she could see lead to a pool and deck area. Free noticed a few other nurses, including the one who'd checked her in, and the rest of the people who must've been the other patients.

"Guys, this is Free. She just joined the ward and is Veronica's new roommate. Try and make her feel welcome please." Tammy had grabbed almost everyone's attention with her introduction.

A wave of relief washed over Free when Veronica waved her over to a deck table where she sat with a woman who looked around Free's age and a very tattooed guy. Making her way over, she could feel the looks from the other few people that were out there. Apart from the obvious nurses, there were only about nine patients all together in this section of the ward.

"Hi," Free squeaked, taking a seat awkwardly. She began rubbing at her arms again until she noticed it had brought attention to her track marks, which the guy clearly noticed as he pursed his lips around his cigarette and gave her a weird look. Now feeling self conscious, she leaned forward and hid her arms under the table as much as she could without sitting in some unusual position.

"Free, this is Lauren and Kevin." Veronica introduced.

"I don't want to be rude, but weren't you on America's Next Top Model two seasons ago?" the girl, Lauren asked. Her voice was rough, like she'd smoked for ages and her face was sunken in. Crackhead, Free guessed.

"Yeah," Free answered modestly. She didn't even want to remember the public embarrassment she'd gone through on that show. They'd basically announced she was a heroin addict on national TV after one of the girls she was rooming with found a syringe in the trash. And she'd been so good at covering her track marks...

It's one of those moments you see on those VH1 specials; The Most Memorable Moments in Reality TV or something like that. It was humiliating having Tyra Banks call her out like that, telling her she needed serious help before she went anywhere near the modeling industry.

"Don't mind Lauren. She watches those shows like every chance she gets," Veronica said with a roll of her brown eyes. Free just shrugged it off and looked around, blue eyes scanning the people surrounding the area. Two patients, a guy and girl, playing cards. One girl and two other guys in the pool. One guy off in the distance, iPod wires hanging from his ears. She must've looked longer than she thought at him.

"That's Jeff. He's kind of quiet. Keeps to himself a lot," Kevin told her, rubbing his hand over his close shaven head. It registered in Free's mind that this was the same guy who did the painting, unless there was another Jeff, which was entirely possible but... he just looked artistic, which was kind of a stereotypical thought.

Averting her eyes to the person speaking to her, she saw Kevin flash her a knowing smirk and wag his eyebrows. Free just brushed and started biting at her thumbnail.


	3. Chapter 3: Bonding

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the WWE or any of its superstars.

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I hope you like this chapter. This story's going to be a little more sensitive and friendship related than my others, but they'll be some romance and maybe even a little drama, don't fret.

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Celebrity Rehab With Jeff Hardy**

**Chapter 3: Bonding**

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**_Day One_**

"Today we're going to work on an exercise that will hopefully give you an idea of how your peers here see you. We're going to break into two groups and conduct a sort of interview. Find out about the other person, and then you'll tell us about what you learned, and if you think you'd be friends with this person outside of the facility," Dr. Martinez announced the next day at group. Since the sun was shining and it was warm, group was being conducted outside. Free was nervous since this was her first meeting period and she was scheduled for a single meeting later tonight with Dr. Callahan too.

She'd hardly gotten any sleep last night. She wished she was home and she wished she could shoot up. But no, she was stuck in rehab and now she had to work with one of these people she barely knew. Free was on the shyer side to begin with, despite her father being who he was. Coming here was starting to seem like a bad idea. She wasn't ready to kick her habit just yet.

It took her almost three hours to get ready this morning. Even with her OCD, the only thing that was ever particularly time consuming was doing her hair in the mornings. But this morning, nothing was right. She had to change her outfit six times before the shirt finally felt comfortable. Her make up just looked uneven, no matter what she did, but she couldn't go face these strangers without it, so she'd had to wipe it off three times before it looked good to her. Free always brushed her hair meticulously, starting at the left fifty times, then fifty times on the right, and finally fifty times in the back. She wasn't much of a counter, like a lot of obsessive compulsives, but when it came to brushing her hair she was particularly picky. And today it had just been unmanageable.

By the time she'd finally gotten ready, everyone was outside, ready to start group, so she'd just politely asked for her cigarettes and joined everyone else, making herself comfortable with her feet in the pool water. Veronica was nice, and so was Lauren, but she wasn't really in the mood for Lauren's questions about Bret Michaels and Veronica's chipper attitude.

Jeff stood from his seat on the edge of the still jacuzzi and made his way over to Dr. Martinez to get the clipboards and pencils she was offering to all the patients. He was going to ask the new girl if she wanted to partner up. Why? Well he caught sight of some ink on her shoulder blade and decided he liked it, a lot, and wanted to inquire about it.

Jeff walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder as she stood in the small line, waiting to get her things, all while trying to get a closer look at the tattoo that was obstructed slightly by the strap of her tank top. Free jumped, a little startled and Jeff wondered if she was one of those paranoid addicts. He wouldn't be shocked.

Free turned to face the alleged Jeff, who was the only person here she hadn't spoken to yet. Kevin had said he was a loner, and she believed him now after he spent the entire evening yesterday cooped up in the art room. His eyes were a shocking shade of green, and there was a natural warmth in them, covered by a layer of pain and anger. He looked familiar to her up this close.

Jeff ran a self-conscious hand over his fading purple hair, feeling strange under her sad, blue stare. She looked like some pretty, wounded puppy or a beautiful mermaid caught in a net and it bothered him. But he quickly sucked it up and flashed her a small smile. "You wanna be partners?" he asked, inwardly wondering if she thought he was weird because he hadn't even talked to her before this.

If that was the case, she didn't say anything, but smiled and nodded her head in confirmation. She took two clipboards with worksheets on them and pencils from Dr. Martinez and handed one of each to Jeff before briskly brushing past him and going back over to the poolside. Jeff followed, looking at the wet footprints she'd left behind as he went to sit beside her on the cement.

Free wondered if she was the only girl here who found Jeff attractive. He was well muscled and tall and had a nice face. He didn't look like an addict. She couldn't imagine what he'd done to get himself here. But she wasn't about to ask either.

"I'm Jeff, by the way," he said as he adjusted so he was sitting cross-legged. Free dipped her legs back in the water and slowly kicked them back and forth, before looking up at him.

"Yeah, I know. They told me." Jeff rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little rude for not introducing himself sooner. That wasn't usually like him, but he was just irritable yesterday. Someone who'd been through what he had recently didn't need a reason to want to be alone. "My name's Free."

She sat and stared at Jeff for a minute and he wondered if he had something on his face. "Can I just..." She reached out and moved the left side of his bandanna down a little, straightening it out. "Sorry," she apologized with a flush. "I'm obsessive compulsive and it was bugging me."

Feeling a slight relief, Jeff chuckled and shook his head. "It's okay. Feel free to do it anytime." Free eased up a little at his laid back personality and smiled at him, her heart beating a little faster than normal. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he had a girlfriend, but quickly pushed the thought aside and glued her eyes to the paper, which looked liked a fill in the blank worksheet you get in first grade.

The two quickly filled in the first space, which was asking for the person's name. "What's your last name?" Free asked Jeff curiously, not looking up from the paper.

"Hardy. Your last name isn't really DeVille, is it?" he asked, amusement evident in his voice.

"No, no. It's Johannesson." Jeff pulled a face and looked up at her, distracting Free from her own paper where 'Jeff Hardy' was filled in the first blank.

"God, how do you spell that?" Free laughed and blushed slightly before spelling out all the letters so he could write them down. Her voice reminded Jeff of a music box. "Do you wanna go first?"

"Sure. Do you want to go back and forth or just ask me all at once then I'll ask you?" Free began feeling itchy and rubbing at her arms, which Jeff took clear notice of. Again, he caught sight of the scabbed and infected looking track marks. Free noticed his stares and crawled back into her shell, trying to hide her arms.

A feeling of guilt washed over Jeff as he realized he'd been caught gaping at the track marks all over her arms. "Uh... sorry. I was just— uh, we'll jut go back and forth." He suddenly didn't want to be around her anymore, feeling too bad about making her uncomfortable like that. What was wrong with him? "How old are you?" he asked quickly, curious about the answer to this question particularly. She didn't look very old, but it would be too messed up for someone young to be stuck in a place like this already.

"Twenty two," she answered quickly, not looking up from her paper. Jeff hesitated before writing, a little shocked at her answer. God, she's only twenty-two and clearly a heroin fiend. It was sad.

"Okay, I'm thirty." Free sighed as she took this information down. That was a big age gap. Oh well, looking for a relationship in rehab probably wasn't the best idea anyway. Very neatly, Free wrote down his age and began kicking her legs through the cool water again. "Occupation?" she read off the paper.

"Pro wrestler," he said casually, and something clicked in Free's mind.

"Oh! I thought you looked familiar. My little brother watches wrestling. I think he has a shirt with you and some other guy on it." She vaguely remembered her brother wearing it around the house, though Free usually kept clear of the living room when wrestling was on. Her brother tended to get rowdy with his friends, attempting wrestling moves off the couch and such.

"Yeah? Must be my brother on the shirt with me. We're both wrestlers," Jeff elaborated, loosening up again.

Free glanced at her paper and saw the family question. "So you have a brother? Family is question thirteen. Who else is in your immediate family?" she wondered out loud. "Might as well get it out of the way, right?"

"Course. I have my dad too. That's it though. My mom died when I was pretty young," Jeff told her, for a reason unknown to him. It wasn't really relevant. Or was it?

Free looked up at Jeff, her blue eyes large and sorrowful, but with a weird glint of warmth and something else unnamable. Her lips were parted slightly and her tongue darted out, tasting the cherry chapstick she'd put on. "My mom's dead too."

Her voice was like air and it made Jeff look up from his paper. He felt a jolt pulse through his body, and at that very second, he knew that he had some sort of connection with this girl. It was the forewarning of some sort of bond and inwardly, Jeff wondered if she felt it too. The look in her eyes said yes.

"It was cancer. I was nine..." Green stayed locked on blue, both afraid to lose this strange feeling of absolute comfort and kinship.

But realizing Jeff was waiting for more information on her mother's death, Free averted her eyes, still tingling from the sudden mold that had just bonded the two of them. It made her feel ashamed to admit what had happened to her mother, being where she was. "I was fifteen. Overdose..."

A sullen feeling loomed between the two at her words. Knowing someone like Phil Brooks, Jeff thought people who'd experienced addiction through family members would try to keep as far away from it as possible. Yet here she was, arms lined with needle wounds.

Yes, her dad had told her he didn't want her to go through everything he had with his addictions, but he really meant to say he didn't want her to end up like her mother, dead and buried because she was a junkie. Sighing lightly, Free glanced back up at Jeff, who was intently watching her feet make small ripples in the pool water. "Anyway, it's just my dad and my half brother," she finished, her voice sad and soft.

It bothered Jeff. He didn't like the sorrow laced in her voice. This was going to be the one person who made a difference in his recovery, he could see that already. And he wanted to be the one person who helped her through hers. He would finally be able to have a friend to talk to who actually understood what he was going through and didn't judge him for it. And he would help her; listen whenever she needed to talk or just give her a shoulder to cry on. This was going to be a real friendship, an unbreakable one.

Jeff had never connected with anyone like this before, apart from his brother, but that was in his blood. She was so young and Jeff felt the strong urge to help her before it was too late. They could work together to overcome their problems. And eager feeling rushed over Jeff and he was motivated to finish this worksheet, not to get this over with, but to find out more about Free. "Where are you from?"

"I live in LA, but I was born in Seattle. I lived there until my mom passed, then I moved to LA with my dad." Free felt special under the interested gaze of Jeff. He was actually listening, writing down what she said only after she'd said it, making sure to give her his full attention as she spoke.

"Okay. I'm from Cameron, North Carolina. Born and raised."

Seattle and LA weren't exactly unknown places, but she'd never heard of Cameron before. "What's it like there?"

Jeff smiled, happy to talk about his hometown, the place where his roots were. "It's not a very big town. Lots of woods. Everyone there already knows me and Matt though, so we don't haveta sign stuff every time we leave the house. Oh, Matt's my brother, by the way."

Free nodded, having gathered that on her own. A sudden feeling of boldness overcame her, and before she could stop, she'd already started. "Can I ask you something personal?"

Normally, Jeff wouldn't answer a personal question from someone he'd just met, but he'd confide anything in her. He knew she wouldn't make and judgments or spread any diseased ridden rumors. He could just tell. Jeff tilted his chin up at her, encouraging her curiosity. "Why are you here?"

Jeff's eyes scanned his paper. Nope, that definitely wasn't on it. But he looked back up into her big, sky colored eyes and was compelled to spill his guts, but refrained from breaking down in front of this girl he'd just met. "Well, a few years back I had a drug problem and went to a different wrestling federation; I'd been in the WWE... or WWWF. I don't know how much you know about wrestling," he chuckled nervously.

"I know what the WWE is. And The Rock. That's about it. My brother talks about it but it kind of goes in one ear and out the other" she admitted.

"Oh, well, anyway, after I left the WWE, I got better, with a little time, and went back. Everything was goin' good for a while until they wanted me to get real crazy in the ring. I did it, of course. I love bein' the guy who jumps off of anything onto anything. But it started fuckin' my body up real bad. We have this... wellness policy at work. I started takin' pain killers I didn't have a prescription for, had a random drug test, and got suspended." Jeff shook his head, recalling the moment with shame. Why had he been so stupid? "I didn't haveta come here, but this is my last chance with the company, and I don't wanna screw it up again. Plus, I think I need to prove somethin' to my dad and Matt. I think they're pretty disappointed in me."

Free didn't speak for a minute, not positive what to say. "Wow..." is what came from between her soft, tinted lips in a whisper. Then she shied away a little, curling up and pulling her feet from the water. "You probably don't need to ask why I'm here..."

"I'd rather hear you tell me then make my own assumptions," he said honestly.

Free looked surprised at this and opened up again, fingernails going to her mouth as she began speaking. "I'm a heroin addict. It's all I think about and there's just never enough of it. I just don't wanna end up like my mom..." Tears began swelling in Free's already flossed eyes and Jeff's heart ached. He itched to place some kind of comforting hand on her shoulder or leg, but didn't want to scare her off. What id her OCD had it's qualms with being touched?

"Hey, let's talk about somethin' else, okay? You just got here, I don't wanna be makin' you all upset already," he said with a crooked smile, trying to make her feel better. He was no therapist and he didn't know what he should be saying. And he definitely didn't want to say the wrong thing.


	4. Chapter 4: Group

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the WWE or any of its wrestlers.

**A/N:** Thanks to those who reviewed. Keep them coming please!

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Celebrity Rehab With Jeff Hardy**

**Chapter 4: Group**

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"Jeff. Why don't you go next?" Dr. Martinez suggested as the group sat on the chairs, performing the oral part of their activity. Jeff stood, flashing Free a small smile and putting the paper out of view. He didn't need it. He had listened intently to every single word she'd said, and memorized most of it. He had never been so genuinely interested in hearing about someone's life before.

"Okay, well I learned Free and I have a lot in common. We like the same kind of music and movies. We both have brothers, and our moms both passed away when we were young. She's twenty-two. Uh... she's a model. Her dad's in Poison. I think she's sensitive, and sweet. Maybe a little quiet at first. And I know that I would be friends with her even if we weren't here," Jeff presented before sitting back down again.

Dr. Martinez smiled. She hadn't notice Jeff connecting with anyone since his arrival, where as all the other patients seemed to have someone they were always with. This could mean progress for him. He hadn't been very open in group, keeping mostly quiet. And in single sessions, Dr. Callahan had reported that he was a little sarcastic and snippy, and very cynical. "And how about you Free?"

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Free stood, just as everyone else had and rubbed at her arms. "Um, well, Jeff's a professional wrestler, on TV and everything. He has an older brother named Matt and he lives in North Carolina. He loves Pearl Jam and he doesn't have a favorite color, because he likes them all. He's an artist and a musician. He looks at things differently... in a unique sort of way. I don't know, I can't really explain it. You'd have to talk to him to understand what I mean. But I would definitely be friends with him outside of rehab," Free finished, her words rushed, trying to get this over with as quickly as she could.

Dr. Martinez smiled and Free sat back down next to Jeff, inconspicuously looking at him from the corner of her eye, trying to see if there was any reaction on his face. Jeff was looking right at her, a little less discretely, and flashed a reassuring smile, sensing her nervousness. He'd never been able to read someone's emotions so well in his life.

Everyone had claimed they would be friends with the person they worked with outside of the facility, but Free wasn't so sure if they just said that to be nice or if they were actually making a connection. She couldn't imagine all these people had bonded like she had with Jeff in those mere twenty minutes.

"Great job guys. I'm glad you're all building relationships with you peers here. It's important to feel comfortable and safe and also to have someone to talk to that isn't a therapist while undergoing treatment," Dr. Martinez concluded, since Free had been the final person to go. When the older, Hispanic woman's eyes locked on Free, Jeff could sense her nerves once again, and Free tensed. "Before I let you go get some lunch, I think we should have a group discussion. Free, would you like to start?"

The poor girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights? What was she supposed to tell them? She was a twenty two year old heroin addict, the poor little rockstar's daughter? "Um... I... I don't—"

"I'll start," Jeff offered, surprising even Dr. Martinez herself. In Jeff's mind he was going to set an example for Free, though he hadn't been very open about discussing his issues prior to this session. But now he had to make sure she knew it was okay to tell these people what her problem was, why she was here, and what she was looking to accomplish.

Dr. Martinez's red lips pulled into a wide, toothy smile as she crossed her short legs and leaned forward a little. Jeff hadn't really talked about anything in group since he'd been here, just commenting every once in a while. When Dr. Martinez had tried to motivate him to open up, he stubbornly refused, but he'd only been here about a week. "Wonderful Jeff. Why don't you let everyone know why you're here?"

Jeff sighed softly, cracking his knuckles before glancing over at Free, seeing her gnawing on her short fingernails. "Well, I used to have a drug problem a few years back. I got over it, but lately, I've been stressed about work. I mean, I travel all the time. I hardly ever get to relax. And bein' a wrestler requires so much physically... I said it was only gonna be this once a few months ago. I took some painkillers that I shouldnt've been takin' and then I did the same thing the next time my back hurt or my shoulders were sore. I guess... I guess it got outta hand. We get these... random drug tests and as soon as I got my papers that day... I knew I was screwed. I tested positive and I got suspended for sixty days."

"How did that make you feel Jeff?" Dr. Martinez asked and Free looked over at Jeff in wonder. How could they not be allowed to take painkillers? Was it such a bad thing?

"Mad. I couldn't believe I was gettin' suspended because I was supposed to be gettin' the big title. I would've been one of the top paid superstars with that title around my waist. It was my big break. But then I realized I blew it. When I was at home, I realized I let everyone down; my dad, my brother, my fans. And it sucks feelin' like that."

A few people nodded their heads in agreement, understanding where Jeff was coming from. No one wants to disappoint the ones they love. "And how did you end up here Jeff? You signed yourself in, so why?"

Jeff stayed silent for a minute, lips pursed tightly as he thought about the devastating fire that had destroyed all his property and his poor, poor Jack. Jeff could feel the tears stinging his eyes, but pushed them back. "I went over to my friend's tattoo shop a few days into my suspension and my brother calls and tells me my fuckin' house is on fire. I lost everythin'. And that includes my dog. I loved that dog. He was the most consistent thing in my life and that's how I repay him; lettin' him burn to death," Jeff growled through his clenched teeth.

Jeff looked over at his arm to see a small hand, with short, jagged fingernails pressed on his wrist, in a comforting manner. It did so much more than that for him though. The simple gesture led Jeff to continue when he was about to close up again. "After that happened I completely shut down. I stayed with my brother but I could tell he was afraid for me. And my dad too. The rehab is optional as part of the wellness policy at work, but when my brother asked me about whether I was gonna go or not, I decided to. I didn't wanna be makin' him and my dad feel like shit just because I did."

Dr. Martinez cleared her throat and turned serious. "Jeff, you know you can't blame yourself for your dog's death. That's going to be your first step in recovery; learning that blame doesn't always have to be placed. Some things just happen without anyone being at fault."

Jeff listened to her words, the usual cynical thoughts he'd been having since he'd been here when he'd listen to what she said to the other patients returning. He was obsessed, absolutely obsessed with the fire that took his Jack away. "Jeff, are you okay?" Free whispered as Lauren began talking about her crack addiction.

Jeff looked up at the blue-eyed girl and found his comfort. His body relaxed a little form the tensed state it had been in and he nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he assured her, wishing he hadn't when her hand lifted from his arm and the warmth he'd felt suddenly left his body.

He hadn't mentioned the fire to her at all, or his dog. Free felt awful for him when she took all this information in, wondering how someone deals with all that in such a short period of time. But of course, he _was_ here. She normally wouldn't be so bold as to put her hand on someone like that, especially when she'd only known them for less than a day. But Jeff had looked near tears and it had been almost magnetic, as if she had no control over the matter anyway.

"Who else would like to discuss something?" Dr. Martinez asked again, looking at Free, but not directly asking her to participate. However Free slowly raised her hand, surprising Jeff a little. But it made him feel good. It made him feel like he'd actually done what he'd tried to do. And that was the first time that Jeff had felt accomplished in a long time. "Go ahead Free."

"Um, I... I have a heroin dependency." This shocked no one since the track marks were easily visible on her arms. "My mother was a heroin addict too. And she died from it. And I'm here because I don't want to die." Jeff's heart broke at the strain in Free's voice as she began crying.

Dr. Martinez looked sympathetically at free and Veronica covered her mouth, trying not to cry herself. As a mother of two, it upset her to see a girl so young in a place like this. "When was the last time you used?" the doctor questioned. Jeff was eager to know this information. Everyone was. They were all expecting the inevitable. A bad withdrawal. It _was_ heroin, after all.

"Like, two hours before I checked in," Free admitted, ashamed and sobbing. In her upset state, she began scratching at her arms once again. Dr. Martinez got the idea that Free didn't want to keep talking, being very good at reading people.

"Free, you can talk about this privately later tonight if it makes you more comfortable," the woman suggested, to which Free nodded her blonde head, eyes directed at her lap and tears streaming from her eyes. "All right, unless anyone else has something they'd like to talk about, you'd probably all like to go eat."

Jeff waited behind with Free as everyone got up, ready to go inside and eat some food, whether they had something to say or not. "You okay?" Jeff asked, noticing Dr. Martinez walking over to them probably to do the same.

Free stood up and sniffed, wiping her eyes off in her hands, voice still a little shaky. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

"Everything all right over here?" Dr. Martinez asked, inspecting both Jeff and Free. Jeff stayed silent, waiting for Free to let the doctor know she was fine. These bursts of emotion, letting it all out, were supposed to be good. Jeff felt as though she was already making a little progress at least.

When did he become so psychoanalytical or whatever fancy term these kooks used?


	5. Chapter 5: First Meeting with Doctor Cal

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the WWE

**A/N:** I added in a counter. That means, I'm going to count by days in this story. Chapter three was day one. If you go back, it now says that in bold letters. I'm not counting the day she arrives at the facility as a full day. This chapter is still day one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. And congrats to Jeffro on his Slammy. He earned it with that move, that's for sure. Crazy ass.

**

* * *

Celebrity Rehab With Jeff Hardy**

**Chapter 5: First Meeting with Doctor Callahan**

* * *

"So, why wrestling?" Free asked as she and Jeff sat at an isolated picnic table outside being monitored by Tammy along with a few other patients who'd chosen to eat outside.

Jeff looked up from his sandwich and shrugged. "Don't really know _why_ I wanted to do it. But I was positive that I did. I kinda... I mean... I'm, not really afraid of anythin'. I'm pretty spontaneous. Me and my brother started doin' it on the trampoline in the backyard and it just expanded from there," he told her, gesturing with his hands. "I just grew up watchin' it. And I wasn't shy about tryin' to do it," he continued with a chuckle.

Free scrunched her face, dropping the plastic fork into her salad and leaning into the back of the lawn chair. "How do you do it? I mean, it's not _real_, is it?"

"In the sense that it's an actual competition, no it's not real. We know who's gonna win the match. But I mean, everythin' else is pretty spur of the moment. We set up a few spots... uh, that's like, moves we're definitely gonna do, and we set up the end of the match usually. But the rest just flows. You gotta be on your feet at all times, ready to sell anythin' that's thrown atchya. More often than not, we get hit with punches and kicks," he explained, pushing strands of his purple hair that had fallen from his bun behind his ear. "You don't really get it, do ya?" Jeff asked with a slight smile, seeing that Free was trying to configure it all in her head.

Her shoulders lifted and she reached for the pack of cigarettes resting on the table by her drink. "Not really. Kind of but... I've never really watched it or anything. Don't you guys get hurt?"

"Sometimes." Her slim hands pulled a thin stick from the carton and she placed it between her glossed lips, flicking the lighter a few times before getting a decent flame and lighting the tip. Jeff stared at the cigarette and coughed a bit, feeling a craving for one. He hadn't smoked in ages, but...

"Can I bum one?" he asked. Free's eyebrows rose and a small, lopsided smile rose on to her pretty lips.

"I didn't think you smoked..." Her delicate fingers pulled another cigarette from the package and she handed it over to Jeff, who quickly used her purple lighter to set it ablaze and inhaled the smoke, feeling a rush of relief wash over him. He'd forgotten how calming the cancer stick could be.

"I haven't in a while... but..." Jeff never finished his statement, distracted by Free's compulsive behavior as she arranged the things in front of her to her liking, having to nudge her lighter three times before it was in a place that made her comfortable.

Free's face flushed as she noticed Jeff watching her, cigarette resting between his lips. God, it was so embarrassing when she had to do things like this! "Sorry..." she muttered.

"For what?"

"Being... weird. I don't know..."

Jeff snorted and shook his head. "You're apologizin' to _me_ for bein' weird? That's a first." Jeff took another satisfying drag of the cigarette and blew the smoke into the air, watching as it swirled through the beams of sunlight.

Free began biting her fingernails. She was feeling anxious, and thanked whatever god there was when one of the nurses named Darlene came outside, a collection of plastic cups balancing on a small circular tray. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as Darlene placed a cup in front of her, then moved on to Jeff.

Free quickly dumped the mild anxiety medication into her palm and tossed the pills into her mouth, downing them with a huge gulp of water from her bottle. The absence of heroin in her bloodstream was already starting to get to her, and she hadn't even been at the facility for a full twenty-four hours.

Free knew this wasn't going to be easy, and she was scared. Jeff could sense some apprehension coming from her and the connection amazed him again. He reluctantly took his medication before addressing her. "S'wrong?"

Free looked into his eyes, strangely tiger-like, and wondered if she was that predictable. With another soft sigh, her hands smoothed over her jean clad thighs before she spoke. "I'm just waiting... like everyone else. I know withdrawal isn't going to be some walk in the park for me and I'm pretty sure everyone sees me as some... ticking time bomb or something."

Jeff nodded, glad his withdrawal had been rather mild, just a sick feeling for a few hours and a fluctuating fever. He didn't see himself as a hopeless addict, like a lot of the other people here. He wanted to get better though, and didn't want to jeopardize his job at all. So he'd checked himself in.

Free's was going to be bad though. She was the only heroin addict in this wing of the center. Some of the patients and even some of the nurses had been whispering about the anticipation of it.

"God, this sucks," she groaned, rubbing at her eyes, skillfully still managing to balance the cigarette between her index and middle finger. "I just need a hit so bad right now..."

He wondered what her cravings were like as he watched her suck down the cigarette in no time, jagged nails absentmindedly picking at the scabs on her pale underarms. He got the itch to take a few pain pills whenever his back or shoulders cramped up, but hers must _flare_. Jeff knew all about the itchy blood and the common heroin withdrawal symptoms.

All they could do was sit back and wait, then watch as she went through them. It wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Callahan was a tall, older man, with graying hair and a distracting mustache. His glasses were thick, and sat high on the bridge of his nose and his belt seemed strained around his thickening waist.

Free looked up from her fidgeting hands, trying to distract her urge to reposition a few trinkets on the edge of his desk. It made her too uncomfortable though, so she reached out and straightened them before licking her dry lips. He wrote something in his notepad.

Callahan of course knew Free was obsessive compulsive from her files, so the action didn't shock him at all. She seemed nervous, uneasy. Paranoid. Not that these were uncharacteristic qualities of heroin addicts. Or an addicts for that matter.

The blonde girl sighed and shrugged her slim shoulders. Her left hand began to scratch at the skin covering her forearms, scarred with track marks, some new, some old. "I'm... okay." More writing.

"Are you settling in?" the doctor wondered, looking for any stiff of uncomfortable reactions that may hint she was having a hard time adjusting.

"I guess so. Yeah."

"How are you getting along with the other patients?" the man asked after a momentary pause. Free's eyes wandered to his notepad, trying to peer over the edge to see what he was writing, with no luck.

"Um... okay. Veronica is... nice. I like Jeff," she blurted out. Her face flushed, knowing she had initially gotten a slight crush on the wrestler. But this wasn't really the place for romance now, was it? No.

Dr. Callahan wrote some more down in his notepad, the scraping of his pencil loud in the quiet office. The only other noise was their breathing and the ticking of the wall clock.

"What is it you like about Jeff? You know he hasn't been very interactive in general with anyone here," he added.

Again, her shoulders shrugged. "I don't know. He seems so... normal. Everyone else seems really... paranoid or stressed out... or messed up. I'm not even sure he needs to be here," she admitted. Callahan nodded and scribbled some more notes down.

"Have you talked to him about your addiction?" Callahan wondered, knowing patients were more likely to open up to their peers at first.

"A little..." she recalled. "I told him how I wanted to use today." More writing.

"Really? And how bad is this urge. What does it make you feel like?" the doctor questioned, peeking over the rim of his glasses.

Free thought about it for a minute. "I feel like... like a little on edge. I've gone without it for longer than this before though..." she confessed.

"How long?" More writing.

"Four days since I'd become an addict. I just couldn't get any." She remembered that time when she'd been on vacation in Florida. It had taken her four days to find a trustworthy dealer, well, as trustworthy as a drug dealer could be anyway.

"And when exactly do you think you became an addict?"

She had to think about it for a minute? When had she first tried heroin? She couldn't even remember. But she remembered shooting up when she was eighteen at her friend's birthday party.

More writing.

"I... I don't know. I was an addict by the time I was eighteen though. I remember this party...." Free stopped herself from elaborating, feeling as though there was no need to explain.

More writing.

"Do you want to tell me about the party?"

Free licked her dried lips, looking around the neat office, searching for some imperfection to go fix, but found nothing that bothered her. This was strange. She'd never seen a therapist of any kind before. And she wasn't sure how she felt about letting this stranger in on all her personal flaws.

"Um..." She became distracted by the chomping of her fingernails. "No." she finally decided. "I want to call my dad."

The doctor tried to sigh discreetly, before writing something else down. "All right. We can continue this is a few days, right?"

Free just nodded and stood, ready to leave the suffocating office.


	6. Chapter 6: Phonecalls

**Disclaimer: **I won't own the WWE

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed. A bit of a filler. Please review after reading.

**

* * *

Celebrity Rehab With Jeff Hardy**

**Chapter 6: Phonecalls**

_

* * *

"Talk to me."_

"Hi Dad," Free replied to her father as he answered his phone, sitting on the small bench below one of the pay phones.

_"Hey beautiful! This number comes up private on the ID..." _he mused.

Free smiled, happy to hear her father's voice. Though Jeff had served as a comfort while in this facility, she missed being home, missed the familiarity. "It's a pay phone. We don't even have to pay to use them though. They give us the money. But like, the calls are monitored or something I think."

_"Yeah maybe. How's it going sweetheart?"_ CC questioned, relieved and genuinely happy to hear his daughter's airy voice.

"It's okay I guess. Right now. I just got out of a single therapy session." Free inspected her short fingernails, this action reminding her they were there, fueling her nasty habit of biting them. "We had group earlier. This guy Jeff that's here is really... nice. I don't know. He's... comfortable. He's like, a pro wrester."

_"Yeah? That's good you have a friend already. Just remember why you're there babygirl."_

"I know. Hey, Bret's got a fan here," she chuckled into the receiver, her nail biting ceasing as she settled for twirling a strand of her crimped, blonde hair.

Her father's throaty laugh made her smile, and the knot of tension she'd felt from her session with Dr. Callahan faded away. _"Oh jeeze. I'll haveta tell him."_

"Well, I'm gonna go eat now. Tell everyone hi for me." She could smell the food coming from the dining room.

_"I will. I love you."_

"I love you too Dad." With that, Free hung up the black phone, sighed, then picked it up, hanging it up once again. The way it felt was too uncomfortable the first time.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Veronica asked eagerly as Free sat at a table with her and Kevin during dinner, right after her meeting with Dr. Callahan. The young blonde's blue eyes scanned the area for Jeff, but he was nowhere to be found, so Free settled for this seating arrangement, though these people did not give her the same comfort Jeff did.

Setting her tray down, Free spent a moment arranging her utensils in a straight line on her napkin, unable to concentrate on anything else. Veronica eyed Free unsurely before attempting again. "Free? How did your session go?"

Finding comfort in the arrangement, Free was able to look up at her two tablemates, embarrassed at the way they were staring at her. Of course, Kevin was already well aware of her condition. "Sorry. Um.... it was.... okay I guess."

Veronica just nodded, seemingly forgetting the compulsive behavior and began eating, starting to chat about nothing of any real importance. Free listened wearily, eating neatly and slowly, sure to cut her chicken carefully, each bite approximately the same size. Eating was such an ordeal sometimes.

"Hey." Free jumped and looked over as Jeff carelessly dropped his tray beside her, sitting in the unoccupied seat to her left. She couldn't fight the smile that tugged at her lips, a wave of relief washing over her. That feeling was unusual in the presence of people she hardly knew.

"Hi," she responded quietly, watching as Jeff dug in to his food, resting his temple on his fist as he chewed. Free just gazed at him, unnoticed by the wrestler as he spaced out.

The way he looked began to strike a bit more familiarity than just her brother's wrestling t-shirt. He looked like someone she knew. The way he was sitting, the far off look in his eyes. It was just then that the resemblance struck her.

She cleared her throat at least three times before looking away and continuing to eat. She didn't want to compare Jeff to him.

Unfortunately, the resemblance Jeff Hardy had to her... boyfriend of sorts only fueled a nasty symptom of OCD that didn't flare all that often.

Free burned holes in to her food as she glared down at it, unable to ward off the images in her head she was getting of being underneath a shirtless Jeff. Being kissed by him. Like he loved her or something.

Her front teeth clamped down on her lower lip. Pushing her half eaten food away, Free got up form the table and left to go outside, being followed by one of the nurses, of course. Stopping at the front desk, she retrieved her cigarettes and continued into the back, lighting the slim stick and inhaling a big, lungful of smoke.

She hated when she got these frenzied images of sexual situations in her mind, no matter how mild they may be. She couldn't control it though. It was humiliating, even though she knew Jeff had no idea what had just happened.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder was a curse as far as she was concerned.

Jeff sat in the dining room a little puzzled. He wasn't sure what had just happened. But Free stormed off.

Jeff had every intention of going after her. And if it was anyone else, he would've. But this sixth sense that had sparked when it came to the young woman told him she needed to be alone. So Jeff tried his hardest to push the curiosity of what had upset her out of his head and continued eating, in a world of his own.

He didn't even hear the Tammy as she stood behind him, trying to get his attention. It was only when she placed a hand on his shoulder he broke out of his trance. "Jeff. Your brother's on the phone for you."

"Oh, uh, sorry," he apologized, without need. It's not as if it wasn't something he did constantly. The nurses and other patients had grown used to it already. The young Hardy stood and followed Tammy into the lobby where the phone booths were. One was off the hook, receiver resting on the small shelf below.

Of course, Jeff glanced around to see if Free was out here, but she wasn't. He picked up the black phone and sighed. "Hey man," he greeted his older brother.

_"Hey, how's everythin' goin'?" _Matt called at least twice a week. Jeff had only called him once since his arrival, only to complain about the facility, though he had checked himself in.

It was then that Free came in from outside, a nurse following behind her. She gave her pack of cigarettes to the front desk and headed to the dining room again, but not before hesitating once she noticed Jeff.

He held up a finger to her, signaling he would join her back at dinner when she was finished. _"Jeff?"_

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. It's... good."

Matt chuckled on the other line. _"Good now? Wow, last time I called you said almost unbearable. We're makin' progress I see."_

"Yeah, yeah. Well..." Jeff was about to tell his brother all about Free, and how insane their connection was. But he stopped. He had no idea why, but he didn't want Matt to know about her. "Well, I'm just gettin' used to it I guess."

_"That's good man. So when can I visit ya?"_ Visitation wasn't something that happened at specific hours during the day or anything like that. There were three visitation periods throughout the time Jeff would be staying here. That's it.

"I'm not sure exactly. But I'll let ya know." Jeff's fingers drummed at the shelf as he balanced the phone between his shoulder and his ear. He didn't know what to say...

_"Arentcha gonna ask about Beth?"_ Jeff snorted as soon as the words left his brother's mouth. Beth hadn't even called once since he'd been here. Some girlfriend.

That wasn't really fair though. He hadn't called her either. And he had been the one to fuck up.

Again.

How any woman could put up with him was a miracle. But for some reason, Beth was always there.

Jeff felt like an ass for reacting like that to his brother's question. "How is she?" He totally left her at his brother's house, alone, with nothing. After a tragedy had just struck them. Beth had loved Jack just as much as Jeff had.

He was the bad one in this relationship.

_"She's gettin' by. Doesn't talk much. But she's eatin' a steady three meals again at least."_ Jeff nodded, though he knew his brother couldn't see. _"She'll call man. She's just upset about everythin', ya know." _Beth hadn't really wanted to speak to Jeff after the whole suspension. She was just so disappointed. And on top of that, the fire had devastated her as much as it had him.

"Yeah. We'll see I guess. Matt man, I gotta go. I was eatin'," Jeff ended the call, ready to get back into the dining room and talk to Free. Maybe he'd confide in her a little.

Maybe.

He hadn't actually, technically mentioned Beth to her. At all. He'd been too interested in knowing everything about Free.

_"Sure thing bro. Hey, take care of yourself there."_ Jeff smirked and shook his head yet again. How his brother was still sticking by him after everything he'd done was beyond him.

"I will. And if I don't, the hounds here'll do it for me," Jeff tried to reassure his elder brother. "Later bro."

_"Bye man." _Jeff hung his phone up and moved from the small cubicle, heading back over to the dining room and gravitating right over to Free, who seemed to be very uninterested in her food and more so involved with separating the pieces of her salad. A pile of lettuce, a smaller one of chopped tomatoes, the sliced olives stacked up, crutons next to them.

Sure, some of her behavior was unusual, but Jeff found it slightly charming. Cute in a way. He was sure Free didn't look at her compulsions like that, but he thought it gave her... character. When he sat, it was obvious she noticed him inspecting her little project, but she didn't stop; she couldn't. A blush appeared over her high cheeks and she sighed, stacking another slice of olive on to the others.

"That was Matt," Jeff announced, trying to stop her from being so discouraged. "He's gonna come for visitation. You don't know when it is, do ya?"

Free's forehead creased as she struggled to remember the date Tammy had recently told her, but no dice. "I can't remember."

Jeff chuckled and shook his head, taking another bite of his food. "Yeah, me neither. I'll just haveta ask and call him back." Jeff scratched the back of his neck and leaned forward onto his elbows. "Hey, do you wanna watch wrestlin' with me tomorrow night?"

He felt kind of scared asking her this. Jeff expected her to laugh in his face. Clearly, wrestling was not something she was interested in. Why on earth would she want to sit in front of the TV with him for two hours when she could do... anything else? She was a freakin' model for god's sake! Jeff felt stupid.

Until Free's dark pink lips pulled into a bright smile and she nodded. "Okay."


End file.
